A furious mum says she has had to cut her work hours because the full-time education place promised to her daughter is proving to be elusive.

Emma Allen, 38, and her husband Richard, who works in Bristol, live with their two children in Tonypandy.

Their eldest child Jacob, five, has special needs and is settled at Ysgol Gynradd Gymraeg Bronllwyn in Gelli, and they expected their youngest child Grace, who turns three in November, to start full-time at the same school in January.

As with many parents across Rhondda Cynon Taff, there was a chance Grace would not get a full-time place at school the term after her third birthday due to the council’s proposal to only offer part-time places to bridge its budget gap.

Despite the council’s plans being approved and a number of teachers and teaching assistants being made redundant or taking early retirement, a judicial review overturned the council’s decision which then led to full-time places being offered again – for the next academic year at least.

However, despite the promise of the full-time places, many parents are struggling to actually get a full-time place for their child.

Emma, a nurse who is cutting her hours to part-time as the cost of child care is so expensive, said: “I’ve been told Grace can’t go to the same school as her brother because there aren’t any more places left. The alternative I’ve been offered is 10 hours of education from January at Cylch Meithrin in Porth.

“I have not been offered a full-time place for her elsewhere and even if I was, how am I supposed to drop one child at Gelli and one at Porth, while my husband works away and I have to go to work myself?

“Even if the council says full-time education is available to every pupil, if there’s no spaces within the catchment area where the child lives then that child can’t go to school and therefore does not have a full-time place.

“It seems like a lot of the staff have been reduced and schools just don’t have the resources to deal with the amount of nursery children if every child took up the full-time placement.

“I’m not the only parent in this situation, I know lots of other parents who are experiencing the same problems.

“This is just a big mess – a complete shambles. Everyone’s blaming each other and the right hand doesn’t know what the left hand is doing.

“The general lack of information is so frustrating.”

An RCT council spokesman said: “Ysgol Gynradd Gymraeg Bronllwyn has reached its published nursery admissions limit for September, with pupils who will already be aged three by the start of the new academic year.

“The headteacher has informed the council that the school does not have the capacity or resources to admit any pre-nursery pupils at all next year.

“This school has admitted pre-nursery children in previous years, but numbers fluctuate each academic year, and this year there are no further places available.

“There may be places available at other schools in the area and parents are advised to contact the council’s admissions team on 01443 744232.

“The council is unable to take individual parent’s personal circumstances into account when considering admissions applications.

“The policy and criteria outlined in our starting school admissions policy booklet, which complies with the Welsh Government’s School Admissions Code, are all that must be used to determine admissions to any council-maintained school.”